Rasen Council's full letter to WLDC regarding the swimming pool

“It is clear from the feedback from public consultations on the town council’s three year strategy that the Market Rasen residents support the proposed enhanced skate park and new sports facilities in the Mill Road Playing Field/Primary School area. They see it as a natural extension of the existing play facilities in the Mill Road area.

“Residents particularly welcome the fact that the facilities will be open throughout the day and not just evenings and the occasional school holiday.

“They appreciate that the new facilities will include a full size outside hard surface play area and a dance studio that are not available at the current centre.

“However, as the number of signatures on the current online petition shows, there is a lot of disquiet and disappointment that the plans do not include a swimming pool.

“Reasons given supporting the provision of the swimming pool include:

*Swimming, in addition to being a useful and possibly lifesaving skill, is an excellent form of exercise that enhances the health and wellbeing of individuals.

*The buoyancy from the water helps people with mobility and other physical difficulties to get regular exercise.

*Individuals prefer the sport, to the other solitary exercise activities of running and gym workouts, because it does not necessarily involve a high degree of energy input and perspiring activity.

*Young people enjoy playing in water and gain valuable exercise at the same time.

“Market Rasen Town Council [MRTC] support the residents’ petition and want to see a facility built in Market Rasen that is on par with the Health and Well Being Hub currently being developed in Gainsborough.

“Clearly, the facility would be available to all residents in the area and so the town council would expect the capital and running costs of the hub facility to be borne by the whole district and not just a few parish/town council residents, as was proposed in past schemes. This as you know would put the new facility on the same financial deal as Gainsborough Leisure Centre.

“MRTC has recently learnt that as part of its enterprise scheme West Lindsey is about to invest in a sports development in Sheffield. We would like to ask the justification behind this investment? Surely, it would be more appropriate to invest the money in a West Lindsey facility, like Market Rasen, which would provide a direct benefit to local residents.

“It would also mean that new jobs would be created in the town.

“Users of the sports and swimming facility would increase the footfall in the town’s high street helping local businesses. Two other clear priorities that have come from the consultation with local residents.

“We would like to ask you, or an appropriate representative, to attend our town council meeting on Wednesday, July 4 to respond to the above request for swimming facilities to be added to the plans for the new sports development in the town.

“We would appreciate it if the response came from a councillor and not an officer as we believe this to be a matter of strategy and policy.”